Beer co-op planned for downtown Burlington

A cooperative brewpub sourcing and serving local beer recipes will be opening in downtown Burlington, a board of directors announced Friday in front of Company Shops Market.

Burlington Beer Works is a cooperative with ownership shares available for purchase by anyone in North Carolina, and the restaurant and brewery will be the first of its kind for Burlington, and only the third co-op brewpub in the nation.

The brewery is founded on the premise of “truly local” beer, with recipes sources through partnerships with local home and professional brewers, as well as the East of Elon Home Brewing Cooperative. The BBW beers will be brewed on-site on only served at the restaurant.

BBW will be located downtown, with the exact location to be announced in 2014. In the meantime, though, BBW is drumming up interest in local beer enthusiasts, passing out stickers, selling shirts with the company logo, and selling shares.

“The goal is that when we do announce our location next year, we want developers to be ready to step in,” said Ian Baltutis, BBW president and founder of East of Elon Home Brewing Cooperative. Baltutis is a candidate for mayor of Burlington in November’s elections.

Individual ownership shares will be sold for $100, and investors will be part of a brewery and restaurant that will aim to revitalize downtown Burlington, and assist with grants to do so.

During the announcement Friday, individuals were already signing up to be shareholders in the cooperative, and by 6 p.m., Baltutis said BBW had sold “30 ownerships in 30 minutes.”

Baltutis and other BBW board of directors will be outside the Company Shops Market on Saturday to sell ownership in the new company, as well.

“The timing was intentional, to coincide with the Co-Hops (Festival),” said Baltutis.

The Board of Directors includes Sebastian Wolfrum, a certified German brewer and maltster; Eric Henry, president of TS Designs and founding owner of Company Shops Market; Scott Fowler, a certified public accountant; Peter Ustach, owner of Fat Frogg and Pandora’s Pies in Elon; Sharon Dent, commercial paralegal at Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A. and founding owner of Company Shops Market; and Jackie Harrell, home brewer and pharmacist at Edgewood Pharmacy.

The $100 shares are available for purchase on the BBW website, www.burlingtonbeerworks.coop.